


a little too full circle

by KlLLTHESPARE



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Piercings, and i love them, general dumbass behavior, harry potter being overall supportive of the punk rock lifestyle, teddy and albus are very good friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26121130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlLLTHESPARE/pseuds/KlLLTHESPARE
Summary: “When my parents go to sleep will you pierce my ears?”Teddy almost chokes on his pumpkin juice but agrees, telling Albus “I’ll do it, but I’m not responsible for how Harry reacts.”“You’re still breathing aren’t you?”“Fair point.” God, that kid was a little too witty.OR, Albus is going through the punk phase too and Teddy is all too willing to be an enabler.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	a little too full circle

**Author's Note:**

> My first actual Harry Potter fanfiction in YEARS and it is set in the Cursed Child era ???? I didn't expect this either, since the Marauders are usually occupying every last one of my available brain cells. Oh well. We'll get there. For now, here is this very old draft that I polished up into some readable content at 3:00am.

Teddy Lupin has always been a little different. From the hardcore punk CDs he owns, to the pins and patches on his school bags, to the rainbow of hair colors he’s tried (perks of being a metamorphmagus), Teddy Lupin sticks out like a sore thumb in the Hogwarts halls.

He doesn’t think much about it either, which is how one night towards the end of sixth year, he ends up in the center of the Hufflepuff common room with a needle shoved through his nose. What started as a few tame dares at midnight with his housemates and a few Gryffindors (who somehow always found themselves in a Truth or Dare circle) eventually ends with Pascal Sadler saying, “Teddy Lupin, I dare you to let me give you a piercing right here, right now.”

To which Teddy responds, “Why not?”

Pascal didn’t think through the specifics, so Teddy sits in the center of the circle, eyes closed, while the rest of the group silently votes on where the piercing should go. 

He takes it like a champ too, hardly flinching when Pascal brandishes the needle and sticks it through Teddy’s septum. After the deed is done, Teddy looks in the mirror and breaks into the biggest grin. 

A week later, he’s heading home on the Hogwarts Express and already feeling so used to the ring in his nose that he forgets it is even there. He’s quickly reminded, however, when his godfather picks him up from the platform. 

“Teddy, what the bloody hell is that?”

You’d think that the man who took down the magical world’s greatest enemy would have been more easygoing about a little piece of metal. 

“Andromeda and Ted are going to kill me if I bring you home like this!”

He calms down, though, and so do his grandparents. They even share a laugh, saying his mother would have been proud. Teddy hopes so. 

What was assumed to be “just a phase” turns into Teddy’s lifestyle, even once he exits his “rebellious” teenage years. When he shows up to the Potters’ for dinner the kids would ooh and ahh at the writing on his jacket and his blue hair (which after much experimentation he decides is his favorite). 

Teddy even thinks it is kinda sweet that at sixteen, Albus is asking him about music and making playlists of all his favorite songs. All things considered, that kid needs an outlet. 

After half a year at school, Albus returns home for Christmas with a new appreciation for punk rock and a favor to ask of Teddy.  
“When my parents go to sleep will you pierce my ears?”

Teddy almost chokes on his pumpkin juice but agrees, telling Albus “I’ll do it, but I’m not responsible for how Harry reacts.”

“You’re still breathing aren’t you?” 

“Fair point.” God, that kid was a little too witty. 

Teddy chuckles to himself a little while he’s preparing the needle, prompting Albus to grill him on the details from when Teddy was his age. He realizes that this all feels a little too full circle. 

The needle is already in Albus’s ear when they hear the stairs creak. “Already in Albus’s ear”, meaning Harry Potter himself walks in on his godson frozen in place while his son is flashing a grimace of shock, pain, and regret all at once. 

All Teddy can think to do is quickly finish the job and push the needle the rest of the way through, a sharp inhale from Albus being the only thing to break the stunned silence. He quickly makes peace with the situation and mentally berates himself for not being the “responsible older godbrother”. 

However, Harry shocks them both by letting out a deep, tired sigh and simply stating, “At least it’s not your nose,” then heading back up the stairs. 

The two of them stay quiet as he leaves, listening to the sounds of his footsteps down the hall, the bedroom door closing, and Ginny’s muffled laughter. Then, all Teddy can think to do is laugh as well, sending Albus into a slightly more nervous fit. 

“I think that was the scariest moment of my life,” Albus remarks, “and that’s saying something.”

Teddy pats Albus on the back reassuringly.

Albus just grins up at him, “Now let’s do the other ear.”


End file.
